Norway gets Network Neutrality -- voluntary, but broadly supported

Several ISPs, the Norwegian Post and Telecommunications Authority, the Norwegian Cable TV Association, and consumer groups have all signed on today to a new document outlining Network Neutrality principles. The new rules lay out three guidelines. First, Internet users must be given complete and accurate information about the service they are buying, including capacity and quality. Second, users are allowed to send and receive content of their choice, use services and applications of their choice. and connect any hardware and software that doesn't harm the network. Finally, the connection cannot be discriminated against based on application, service, content, sender, or receiver. Within those guidelines, though, ISPs still retain tremendous freedom to act as they choose. The second principle, for instance sounds more than a bit like the FCC's current Internet policy statement, and it should—it was adapted from the FCC principles. Like the FCC principles, the right to freely use a connection is limited to legal uses, so it does not preclude ISPs from blocking access some P2P file-sharing or all child pornography. In the US, this has already lead ISPs to suggest that even intrusive deep packet inspection of user traffic would be acceptable, so long as the goal was rooting out such illegal uses. Principle three prohibits traffic discrimination in general, but does allow "traffic management efforts on an operator's own network to block activities that harm the network, comply with orders from the authorities, ensure the quality of service for specific applications that require this, deal with special situations of temporary network overload or prioritize traffic on an individual user's connection according to the user's wishes."